by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports

Yes, he really did. And he also ended last year with wins in two of the FedExCup playoff events and another on the European Tour, wrapping up player of the year honors on both sides of the Atlantic and putting a stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking.

And since then? Well, you'd think by the looks of things, and the sounds of critics and analysts chirping, that McIlroy is playing to a handicap of 18 heading into Thursday's start of the British Open at Muirfield Golf Club.

While his record is un-Rory like - four top-10s in his 13 starts this season, with three missed cuts, one withdrawal and four finishes of 33rd or worse - McIlroy doesn't understand what all the fuss is about, why he's caught up in a vortex of criticism and advice that has his head spinning at times.

Many insist his change in golf equipment this year is the culprit. NBC analyst and two-time major winner Johnny Miller said recently that McIlroy's romance with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki was "distracting." And six-time major champion Nick Faldo suggested this week that McIlroy, still just 24, should just concentrate on playing golf.

"What's the big deal?" McIlroy, who also won the 2011 U.S. Open, said Wednesday before his final practice round. "I haven't had the best six months, but it's OK. I'm fine. I've got a good life. So, you know, it doesn't bother me. I'm in a good place. And as I said, I'm working hard. I feel like I'm working on the right things. And sooner or later it will turn around and I'll be back lifting trophies."

In his quest to lift the Claret Jug, McIlroy came to Muirfield early and will end up playing 108 holes during practice rounds. Faldo said Monday that McIlroy should "go to the club, 9 in the morning, hit balls all day long, and you leave at 5; concentrate on golf, nothing else."

Wednesday, McIlroy fired back.

"I actually was on the range at 6:15 (a.m.), and got out of the gym at 6:15 (p.m.) - actually a 12-hour day compared to his eight-hour day," McIlroy said. "Nick should know how hard this game is at times. He's been in our position before. He should know how much work that we all put into it."

Tiger Woods, who has supplanted McIlroy as the game's No. 1, has been in McIlroy's position. He has faced more scrutiny and criticism than any golfer of his era, and it began shortly after his pro career started. Woods won the 1997 Masters by a record 12 shots in his first major as a pro and then made a swing change and struggled. He won his second major in 1999 and then won six of the next 10.

"I was getting questioned quite a bit through that era," Woods said. "Why would you change something? And do this and do that, and how could you change something that won the Masters by 12? I think that for Rory, he's going through that right now and he's making some alterations. Only he knows it's for the betterment of his game. People obviously speculate and analyze and hypothesize about what he should or shouldn't do, but deep down he knows what he's doing."

What McIlroy wont do is panic. He said the state of his game is "promising â?¦ and heading in the right direction." As for his critics and those offering advice, he said he might not read newspapers and magazines as much, might watch a little less TV, might stop listening to so many people.

"It's like life," he said. "You're going to go through highs and you're going to go through lows. It's just about trying to work your way out of the lows. Yeah, I haven't played my best golf this year, but I've showed signs that it is there. It's just a matter of trying to do that more often.

"It's been difficult to try, I guess, to explain why I'm not playing well or why I haven't had the results that I've wanted over the past six months. But I know that I'm working on the right things and I know that I'm doing the right things and I'm staying patient. And I know sooner or later it will turn around and I'll play the golf that everyone knows that I'm capable of and the golf it that I know that's capable of winning major championships."